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Doctors in India are under pressure to label patients with asbestos poisoning as having tuberculosis or bronchitis and to underplay the health impact of asbestos, a public health team has said.

Many thousands of people in India suffer from lung diseases caused by exposure to asbestos, occupational health specialists said at a press conference last week, reiterating their demand for a ban on asbestos.

India uses around 125 000 tonnes of asbestos each year, which it imports mostly from Canada and Russia. Nearly all (90%) …